The Wake County Public School System is in the process of developing a formal policy for artificial intelligence, but teachers are not waiting. Educators across the district have already started integrating AI tools into their classrooms, creating their own guidelines to promote responsible use while safeguarding student data.
Key Takeaways
- Wake County's school board has begun meetings to establish a district-wide AI policy, three years after ChatGPT's release.
- Individual teachers are creating frameworks, like a "zones" system, to define appropriate AI use for different assignments.
- A key rule protects student data by restricting AI use to Google's Gemini chatbot within the district's secure domain.
- The goal is to use AI as a learning aid rather than a tool for students to bypass critical thinking.
Teachers Lead AI Integration Efforts
While the Wake County Board of Education has initiated discussions for a comprehensive AI policy, educators are already navigating the new technological landscape. Proactive teachers are establishing classroom-specific rules to guide students on how and when to use artificial intelligence effectively.
This teacher-led approach has resulted in innovative methods for using AI as an educational supplement. The hands-on experience from these educators is expected to provide valuable insights for the district's forthcoming official guidelines.
The 'Zones' System for AI Use
Paul Cancellieri, an eighth-grade science teacher at Mills Park Middle School, has developed a tiered system to manage AI in his classroom. This framework, which is being considered as a model for the entire district, categorizes assignments into different "zones" of permissible AI assistance.
"We have this scale of different levels that each assignment falls on," Cancellieri explained. Some assignments, he noted, fall into a category where no AI help is allowed.
"Tests and quizzes are going to be places where you can't use AI to help you... I need to know what you know, and so I need to make sure there's no AI involved."
Other levels in his system allow for more collaboration with AI. For certain tasks, students can use AI for brainstorming, provided they develop the ideas themselves. Another level permits students to use AI for feedback on work they have already completed independently.
Cancellieri, an early adopter of the technology, created these boundaries after observing a trend among students. "More and more of them have started to use (AI) in ways that shortcut the learning," he said. "We don't want them to have the AI do the work for them. We want the AI to help them learn, not replace their thinking."
AI Use Tiers
- No AI Zone: Reserved for assessments like tests and quizzes to evaluate individual student knowledge.
- Brainstorming Zone: Students can use AI to generate ideas but must produce the final work themselves.
- Feedback Zone: Students complete their work first and then use AI to receive suggestions for improvement.
Enhancing Skills with Practical AI Applications
At Neuse River Middle School, sixth-grade English Language Arts teacher Whitney Parker has incorporated AI to make learning more engaging and relevant to the modern world. Her students use AI tools to develop skills that extend beyond traditional curriculum requirements.
"I want to be just as cool as they are," Parker said, explaining her motivation to keep up with the technology her students are already familiar with.
Every Friday, her students use Google's Gemini chatbot to produce a podcast about their reading assignments. Parker noted that this project helps students connect classroom activities to future career opportunities. "They always want to know, like, how is this going to get me a job," she said.
The assignment targets several key competencies. According to Parker, it reinforces "comprehension, being able to communicate and collaborate and be creative," which she tells students are essential skills for success in any profession.
District Focuses on Data Security
While a full policy is under development, the Wake County school district has already implemented a critical rule to protect student privacy. Charles Patton, the district's director of digital content and instruction, confirmed that a security contract is in place with Google.
The "Walled Garden" Approach
The district's agreement with Google ensures that all student and teacher interactions with AI occur within a secure, closed environment. This prevents sensitive data from being used to train external AI models, a common practice for many publicly available AI services. The data remains controlled by the school system.
This agreement mandates that students and staff use only the Gemini chatbot for school-related AI tasks. Patton described this as a protective measure. "It means that the student interactions and the teacher interactions with AI happen within our Google domain," he stated. "Our data isn't being sent out to train their models. It stays inside of our house. We sometimes call it a walled garden for safety purposes."
Patton's team has also formed a task force to help draft the official policy guidelines, aiming to standardize the use of AI, which currently varies by school and teacher. "We believe that AI helps get the little things out of the way," he added, highlighting its potential to streamline educational tasks.
Preparing for a Future with AI
The ongoing efforts in Wake County reflect a broader educational shift toward embracing AI as a tool for learning. The development of a formal policy is expected to provide clarity and support for educators across the district.
Teachers like Whitney Parker are optimistic about the future and emphasize the need for proper training to build confidence among their peers. "I think the best way to start out with it is how not to be afraid of AI," she said.
The goal, from the classroom to the district office, is to empower both students and educators. By establishing clear guidelines and providing necessary training, the school system aims to ensure that artificial intelligence is used as a powerful and safe tool that enhances, rather than replaces, the learning process.